Several conditions and disorders are characterized by an elevated level of cholesterol in tissues of the body. New, safer, and more effective methods for reducing cholesterol levels in individuals with elevated levels of cholesterol (e.g., hypercholesterolemia and atheroschlerosis) are continually sought. Furthermore, there are continuing efforts to treat individuals suffering from inherited disorders that exhibit as a primary symptom an accumulation of lipids in tissues and cells of the body. These inherited disorders typically belong to the class of lipid storage disorders (LSDs), of which a notable example is Niemann-Pick (NP) disease. The etiology of LSDs is generally a malfunction of the degradative function of the lysosome, and more specifically, a result of an insufficient production of, or diminished function of, a metabolizing enzyme of the lysosome.